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HMO landlord fined

A landlord has been fined over £3,000 for failing to have a licence for his House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).

A landlord has been fined over £3,000 for failing to have a licence for his House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).

Manzoor Hussain, of Ferney Road, East Barnet, pleaded guilty at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on 22 March 2016 to failing without reasonable excuse to have a licence, and was fined £3,500, ordered to pay £2,446 in costs and pay a £120 victim surcharge.

Since 2006, landlords of HMOs of three or more storeys with five or more tenants sharing amenities such as kitchens and bathrooms are required to hold a licence.

The unlicensed six bedroom house in Parkside Gardens, East Barnet, was found by inspectors to be home to seven tenants in six different households sharing one kitchen and two bathrooms, despite the landlord telling the council’s Environmental Health team that he would be letting the property to a single family.

The court heard how the landlord had previously held a licence for the property when Environmental Health officers inspected it in 2008. It had been let out to five people at the time and officers prohibited a box room in the house from being rented out as it was too small.

Inspectors visited the property in August 2015 following a complaint about the possibility that the HMO did not have a licence.

They found seven tenants were living in the house, some of whom had been living in the property since September 2013. The box room which had been prohibited from being rented out on the previous licence was one of the rooms being let.

An application for a new licence is currently being processed.

Additional licensing for HMOs is being introduced in Barnet from July 5, which includes smaller types of HMOs. More information can be found online.

Cath Shaw, Barnet Council’s Director for Growth and Development, said: “It is crucial that landlords make sure they have the correct licenses for their property. These licenses are very important in making sure the accommodation tenants are living in is of a decent standard and is not putting them at risk.

“This prosecution shows that landlords of HMOs who don’t have the required licences can expect to face action.”